Steroids are not only illegal, they are also very dangerous – and should only be used under medical supervision. Believe it or not, there is a certain kind of guy that takes steroids Research into anabolic steroid use shows that it isn’t about cheating athletes or teenage sports wannabes. Most steroid users are in it for looks.
Who Takes Steroids?
A survey of 1,955 US men who used anabolic steroids found that the average user is like this:
- Aged 31.
- White.
- Likely to be a college graduate (three quarters of the participants).
- Has a “white-collar” job with a high income.
- Uses steroids to get bigger muscles, more strength, and “increase” physical attractiveness.
Some other interesting results:
- Majority (70.2%) self-identified as “perfectionists”.
- Users averaged 11.07 years of weight training.
- The majority (69.6%) averaged four to five workout days per week.
See the full text (PDF) of this fascinating study. Source: Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition..
What are steroids?
The type of illegal steroids used by body builders are anabolic steroids – they were first created in the 1930s, and are related to the hormone testosterone. This means they have androgenic qualities (encouraging masculine development in the body, such as the growth of vocal cords and body hair) – and they also increase muscle mass and physical strength.
When should steroids be used?
Steroids are prescribed for some conditions, such as to stimulate bone growth and appetite, to induce puberty in boys, and to treat chronic wasting conditions (eg. cancer and aids). They should only be used when prescribed by a doctor in this way.
What are the risks of steroid abuse?
The author Craig Davidson wrote recently in the Guardian about his experiences with injecting illegal steroids. One of the most horrible passages to read was this:
“That oil I shot into my hip weeks ago had not dissolved. The deep pain convinced me I’d developed an abscess. In effect, I’ve got a pouch of month-old oil inside my hip, walled off by my immune system. If I’m lucky it’s sterile, but if not it is infected, the surrounding tissue gone necrotic.”
For men, the more severe side effects of steroids include:
- Premature balding or hair loss
- Dizziness
- Mood swings, including anger, aggression, and depression
- Hallucinations
- Paranoia
- Insomnia
- Nausea and vomiting
- High blood pressure
- Higher risk of injuring muscles and tendons
- Jaundice (yellowing of the skin); liver damage
- Urinary problems and pain when urinating
- Testicular shrinkage
- Breast development (gynecomastia)
- Impotence and sterility
- Stunted growth (for teenagers)
I ve been using steroids for nearly 20 years, alsodrink some weekends & have done recreational drugs here & there with no problems at all. Recently had a medical where everything including liver, kidneys & collestral was perfect! With knowledge u can run steroids all your life as long as don’t do mr Olympia dosages & take time off ! I’m only 37 but no bodybuiders in there 50s stil competing! Wat does that tell u??!!! P.s a general gp no nothing about current steroid use & there effects, they wil just say there bad & could cause cancer which has never been proved!
Hi, i know this all is ok, but i used oral steroids with no sides at all. Main thing is not overdose and to have a good diet with lot of water intake and at least 8 hours of sleep.
Steroids i used – danabol , turanbol and primobolan. this are awesome medications for muscle grow and very mild, no low risks.
I wonder about the “no deaths from steroid use comment”.
I mean technically no one has died from A.I.D.S. People usually die from pneumonia or some other medical problem because they have AIDS.
So maybe there were no deaths from steroids, but maybe liver failure because people took steroids?
Oh one more thing. About the quote from Craig Davidson. Steroids didn’t give him an abscess. AN UNCLEAN NEEDLE OR UNWASHED HANDS gave him an abscess. Steroid users are at the same level as a diabetic injecting insulin into themselves for risk of abscess.
The comments on here as well as this article are ridiculous. They’re not based on any scientific studies. To say that a drug “can cause” something is a cop out. This is taken from the pamplet included with Orth Try Cyclen:
“The use of oral contraceptives is associated with increased risks of several serious conditions including
myocardial infarction, thromboembolism, stroke, hepatic neoplasia, and gallbladder disease, although
the risk of serious morbidity or mortality is very small in healthy women without underlying risk factors.
The risk of morbidity and mortality increases significantly in the presence of other underlying risk factors
such as hypertension, hyperlipidemias, obesity and diabetes.”
Sounds even more dangerous than steroids. The fact of the matter is no one, not even the medical community, can say for sure the harm that steroids can do to some one because THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A TEST CONDUCTED on healthy males trying to gain muscle. Correction, there has never been a test conducted on males – at all! I urge you all to watch the documentary Bigger Stronger Faster for a viewpoint that is unbiased and isn’t trying to sell you something. It even includes interviews with some of the most prevalent doctors on this issue. Educate your readers diet blog, don’t intimidate them with an article presented with no facts whatsoever.
I wonder why people even take steroids when they know something could happen to them. They should know that they could die and go to prison for 1 year.
taking steriods can kill you depending on if you are able to take them
Steroids do not reduce the size of what you’re implying, only the testicles. Don’t make stuff up.
Other than the good doctor, none of you really have any medical backgrounds. People tend to take what they hear on the “oh, so reliable” news as the gospil. Bob Costas, who loves to run his chomp about steroids and his opinions of them, regretably, knows diddly about steroids. I am around steroids all the time. I don’t use… yet, but I am taking the time to learn more about them before I come to a conclusion. When you folks talk about how bad users look and all the negative side effects, keep in mind that you are witnessing the extremes of this subject. There are undoubtedly twice as many “users” out there on a more educated, regimented usage than these extreme examples. I guarantee you see them on a daily basis and don’t even know it. Thankfully, none of you are insulting the people who choose to use and are making your judgments based on your own agendas. I will agree that there are way too many uneducated and too young of people using. The “ALOTLOTLOT” point is 100% true, especially in kids. But since they have been banned and constantly shunned by the media, there tends to be “ALOTLOTLOT” less information and education available. I am on a quest to find solid information about side effects on low dose, maintenance use. Like what Art mentioned above, and I have heard over and over again, “no one has ever died from using steroids.” I’m talking direct use in normal subjects. If you already have a bad heart or are using cocaine on the side, etc. there has to be some speculation on the validity of claims pointing the finger directly at steroids. I commend folks for not using, and I don’t hate those who do. Your choice, and it should be your’s alone! I just wish the GP would do a teency bit of research before not only making a choice, but taking away mine.
Steroids are crazy. It is like cheating and the side affects are not worth it. I see people who use steroids and it is just not attractive.
This guy spams this blog all the time. Why can’t the admins do something about it?
Overuse and abuse, the use of steroid becomes an addictive and psychological problem.
Have there been any controlled tests done on the effects of steroids? I was under the impression it is mostly empiracle evidence and so is difficult to draw direct links. I certainly do not condone steroids but I think many users overuse and abuse steriods to such a large extent, which exacerbates the problem.
I’m not familiar with steroid use and its negative effects. I will however make known a positive effect of testosterone.
Women have always received attention for their hormonal loss as they approach their age and been given supplimental hormones to help their moods and physical ailments.
I am a 55 yr. old male and wonder why there’s little on the subject of men and their losses. I had experienced a loss of muscle mass,often became overwhelmed with multitasking,and wrestled with bouts of depression. I experienced erectile dysfunction at times also.
My doctor gave me a blood test and found me to fall below my level of testosterone. Inside of 2weeks I no longer had ED. Within 8 wks. I had not only gained muscle mass but I increased more than before.I no longer felt overwhelmed or struck with depression. In fact my thoughts are now clear as ever and I am very focused.My wife says my skin is better as well.
I recommend staying in close touch with your doctor and keeping up with your colonoscopy.
What people don’t talk about is the rise in the use of steroids in WOMEN lately…lots of women athletes take them to try and preserve muscle while dieting severely. The long term side effects aren’t that well-documented, but I would imagine that hair growth, voice deepening, ovarian shrinkage, etc., would be some of them.
I’m sure a lot of people probably do use veterinary steroids if they don’t have access to human grade ones, just like people are using Clenbutrol (a horse asthma drug) to lose weight rapidly even though it literally destroys your thyroid gland.
OK, thanks! I’m sure your feelings about anabolic steroid use is a fair one. In addition, there are other things that the FDA has, from many doctors viewpoints, had a too restrictive policy about.
The show was about illegal steroid use by bodybuilders so I beilieve the statement about no deaths caused by steroids was in that context.
“There has also never been a death caused by steroid use.”
In my opinion that statement is incorrect. Not just from anabolic steroids, but I believe many people died when cortisone was first discovered and used as the “wonder drug.”
http://www.anabolicsmall.com/steroid_risks.html
Natural bodybuilders (in the stringent natural competitions) have the hottest bodies, hands down. (IMO) There is a distinct and different look among the general bodybuilding competitions where steroid use is rampant — not so aesthetically pleasing.
Not to hijack the topic here, but doesn’t this attitude apply to many things people do? The idea that something “won’t happen to me” seems to be in our genetic makeup (think Eve in the Garden of Eden=). Applied to steroids: side effects won’t happen to me; Overeating: I won’t gain weight; Not exercising: I’ll stay fit forever by folding laundry & sitting behind my desk. Is there some reason “we” have a tendency to toss aside the risks and focus on the rewards?
I am not advocating taking steroids illegally in any way, but what does injecting oil have to do with injecting steroids? They are not the same thing. A while ago John Stossel, Martin Bashir, or some other investigative reporter did a report on steroids (sorry, could not find the name of the show). What struck me about the show was the legal side of it. The FDA, DEA, or whoever made steroids illegal without any support from the medical community. There has also never been a death caused by steroid use (not that there isn’t side-effects, just like any drug).
I think people that take steroids seem to think they are invincible and that nothing will ever catch up with them down the road.
thanks Dr J for chiming in!
I’m not a bodybuilder, but I couldn’t imagine taking steroids. I can understand that there is a great deal of pressure on athletes to increase their performance, especially when money is on the line. However, a lot is known about the negative effects of steroids now, and it seems difficult to think that the benefits outweigh them. Having a doctor in my family, I know that the long-term effects of steroids are horrendous, and have scared me off of even thinking about taking them.
It’s amazing how much abuse the human body can withstand.
I want to ask the author how successful he was with women after bulking up. (That’s the reason 99% of the guys do this type of thing). Did he get more looks? More dates? What was the reaction when he got intimate with them and couldn’t even do anything due to his – ahem – reduced size? Having gone out with several attractive women, I can say that looking healthy is something they like, but looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger usually is not.
I really don’t know much about steroids for AIDS patients. The studies seem to have mixed results, with resistance training, etc recommended if possible. I guess it has to be tailored to the individual. Prevention cannot be stressed enough.
Until they have the “whatever” category in Olympic events, I feel the use of anabolic steroids is a very dangerous game.
devils advocate as typed by this natural (read: no real experienced-science here) woman.
illegal vet. steriods? probably not a good idea and from what I saw when I was involved in bodybuilding (small business
not competing) THAT was the bulk of what was used.
“real” steriods? as given to patients (mainly aids, yes? Dr J? Ya in the house?) to prevent wasting? It seems as though the results as pretty amazing.
in a good way.
is this all another example of our nature to lean toward IF A LITTLE IS GOOD THAN A LOTLOTLOT WILL BE EVEN BETTER!? when we get the side effects listed at the end of post?
Im not sure.
M.